Stud detectors (stud finders) for finding studs in light-frame construction walls are known from the prior art. Known stud detectors use a capacitive measuring method. This method generally detects a change in capacitance of one or a plurality of electrodes that arises if the electrode is near a stud that is arranged in a wall. This change in capacitance is, for example, detected by measuring a charging behavior of the electrode.
Known stud detectors are held against a wall that is to be examined by a user standing on a floor in front of a wall. It is known that walls, floors, and equipment users have a certain amount of conductivity, which allows an electrical current to flow from the stud detector via the wall, the floor, and the user back into the stud detector. Even if this conductivity and the resulting currents are small, these currents cause the measurement result to be skewed. In particular, the measurement result is skewed in such a way that when the stud detector approaches the wall, the capacitance of the one or a plurality of electrodes does not increase monotonically, as would be expected in the absence of current flow.